Living mirrors : infinity, unity, and life in Leibniz's philosophy / Ohad Nachtomy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nachtomy, Ohad, author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1646-1716.

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm.

Infinite.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 219 pages)

Other Title:

Infinity, unity, and life in Leibniz's philosophy

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2019.

Summary:

In 'Living Mirrors,' Ohad Nachtomy examines Leibniz's attempt to 're-enchant' the natural world-that is, to infuse life, purpose, and value into the very foundations of nature, a nature that Leibniz saw as disenchanted by Descartes' and Spinoza's more naturalistic and mechanistic theories. Nachtomy sees Leibniz's nuanced view of infinity - how it differs in the divine as well as human spheres, and its relationship to numerical and metaphysical unity - as key in this effort. Leibniz defined living beings by means of an infinite nested structure particular to what he called 'natural machines' - and for him, an intermediate kind of infinity is the defining feature of living beings. Using a metaphor of a 'living mirror,' Leibniz put forth infinity as crucial to explaining the unity of a living being as well as the harmony between the infinitely small and the infinitely large.

Contents:

Introduction: what does infinity have to do with life?

Introducing the main characters: a conceptual outline of Leibniz's approach to infinity

Leibniz in Paris: between infinite number and infinite being

Leibniz reads Spinoza: different senses and different degrees of infinity

Infinity and unity: mathematics and metaphysics

Infinity and life: a sketch of Leibniz's development

Animate and inanimate things, natural and artificial machines

Living mirrors and mites: Leibniz and Pascal

Created beings as infinite and limited

Monads at the bottom, monads at the top, monads all over

Life, force, and infinity

Conclusion: the re-enchantment of nature.

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2019.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-090734-7

0-19-090735-5

0-19-090733-9